Archive for the ‘Printer Cartridge Terminology’ Category

Edible ink, as the name implies, is an printer ink that is actually safe for eating. It can be used in food decoration especially for pastries and other baked goods. Do not worry much if you see cakes with photographs on them. It is safe to eat that portion as they are made of edible ink.

The edible ink technology

Printer edible ink is not a complex technology as you think it is. You can appreciate this technology using the following facts:

1. Commercial bakeries were the first to discover this technology. Some decades ago, people made use of edible printer ink using food dyes and colorings. These were not yet termed as edible ink by then. During the year 2000s and above, edible ink were made especially for printer use. These were the ones that reproduce photographs for decorating cakes and other baked goods. From commercial bakeries, households are now making use of this new technology.

2. There are two known printer brands that make use of edible ink – Canon and Epson. These companies produced edible cartridges as well as edible ink paper (also known as icing sheets) to support the technology. All these components are made using non-toxic ingredients approved by the FDA.

3. The icing sheets or the edible ink paper are derived from either cornstarch or sugar or corn syrup. They are available in different sizes and are as thin as wafers. In line with this, companies also produced multi-colored edible inks. These printer inks are capable of producing a variety of color hues.

4. There is also special software used in the process. This one is essential in order for you to design the images you want from an edible ink.

5. Putting all the components together – the edible ink, edible printer cartridges and edible ink paper – you will be able to produce the images you want. You can place these images on top of a cake or a cookie then the icing sheet will be absorbed by the frosting.

6. The latest in edible ink is called the decorating pen. These can be used to draw images not only on foods but also on plates. These can also be utilized in drawing temporary tattoos.

With all these facts on edible ink technology, you are surely convinced to try one. Get low cost and quality versions from reputed sites like printcountry.com.

What exactly are recycled printer cartridges? Well, these are either recycled inkjet cartridges or recycled toner cartridges that you can recycle on your own or buy from a service provider that offers one. Buying or using these items will help you save the environment. Add to that the fact that it can also be beneficial to charity.

How are recycled cartridges made?

The first thing you need to bear in mind is to bring your empty printer ink cartridges to a recycling center. These recycling centers will usually receive a bulk of other empty print cartridges from other users like you. A series of steps are followed before they are resold in the market in the form of recycled cartridges.

1. Sorting. The company starts by sorting out the empty printer cartridges they have on hand. The sorting is made according to brand then down to the printer model and depending on their condition.

2. Checking and Replacement. Checking of the soon-to-be recycled printer cartridges is made in order to see the condition of the empty printer cartridges. The recycling center will check for damages on the printer cartridge parts. Damaged components will then be replaced with new ones.

3. Reassembly and Refill. The empty cartridges will then be reassembled and refilled with their corresponding printer ink or toner. The same formulation with that of the OEM’s requirements is used in this process.

4. Testing and Packing. Vigorous testing is done to make sure that the recycled cartridges will still function as clients want them to. Testing is made for errors. Once the printer cartridges are in good condition then they would be placed inside their new packages.

5. Marketing. This time, recycled printer cartridges are offered both in the offline and online market. These printer cartridges are then sold as remanufactured printer cartridges .

Buy recycled cartridges

Once recycled cartridges are sold in the market, you can now start buying them. This is one way for you to take your own share in saving the environment. However, buying these new versions of toner and printer ink cartridges requires some thought. Make sure that the printer cartridges have color control and fade resistant qualities.

How will you be assured you’ll get that in your recycled cartridges? You should always go for reputed marketers that offer one. An example of a reputable site is printcountry.com which sells low cost print cartridges to the public.

Replacement printer cartridges vary from one printer brand to another. In order to understand this concept even more and to know your options, you have to learn about the different types that are out in the market today.

# 1 – OEM replacement cartridges

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. This simply means that OEM cartridges are genuine printer cartridges produced by the corresponding printer manufacturer. At times, you can also order OEM from the manufacturer’s licensed partners. Since they are genuine, they carry the brand name (Dell, Brother, HP, Canon etc.) of the OEM. These are somehow more expensive over the other types of replacement ink cartridges.

# 2 – Compatible replacement cartridges

These are cheaper options over the first type of replacement cartridge. Most often than not, they are made to meet specifications by the OEM. In some cases, however, these compatible cartridges exceed the said requirements thus making it as reliable as the OEM versions. But since they are produced by third party manufacturers, they do not carry the brand’s logo on the inkjet replacement cartridges.

If you are looking for cost-effective options over OEM printer cartridges, you can have compatible replacement cartridges instead. The price of these replacements is around a third to one half of the OEM versions thus providing huge amounts of savings on your part. However, these printer ink cartridges are made specifically for some printer models only so better check on that before buying one. Plus, if you are buying a cartridge that is not 100% compatible to the printer brand and model you own, the tendency is you will encounter printing problem errors.

# 3 – Remanufactured replacement cartridges

Oftentimes called refurbished printer cartridges, these are either OEM or third party replacement inkjet or toner cartridges. These are cartridges which were once used and have been refilled or recharged by the user. To make remanufactured printer cartridges, service providers thoroughly clean all parts – and replace them when necessary – then fill them with a printer ink formula similar to that of the original manufacturer’s specifications. After that it goes through rigorous testing. Although these are cheaper than OEM replacements, they are pricier than compatible versions.

These replacement printer cartridges can be bought from a lot of online service providers. If you want to get high quality yet low cost replacements, consider buying one from printcountry.com.

MICR simply stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. The MICR toner that is used in this process makes use of both special printer inks and characters. This type of toner is very popular to banks as they use MICR to print special characters on their client’s personal and business checks.

Why is an MICR toner important?

The MICR toner is transferred to a certain document. When this document is processed through a special machine, the printer ink becomes magnetized. From there the magnetic information will be translated to characters.

All printer brands with this type of toner – like HP MICR ink – are essential in order to make check processing faster. They enable machines to read data from MICR lines. These MICR lines usually appear on the bottom portion of the check. In short, these special toners are contributory to the existence of an automated check processing.

How does an MICR toner work?

This can actually be described through the different processes that take place in reader-sorter machines.

1. The MICR toner contains magnetic components that are made of iron oxide additives. These additives are great partners to the toner in that it allows reader-sorters to read these checks.

2. Once the check goes through the sorter or the reader machine, it will be read through the aid of a magnetic read head. The read head creates contact with the MICR line thus creating a flux pattern which is an electromagnetic field.

3. The flux pattern on the other hand is responsible for producing current that runs through the magnetic read head. The current will then read the special characters produced by the MICR toner. Character recognition depends upon two factors: flux pattern’s strength; and the MICR line’s passage timing as it goes through the read head.

4. The process of reading MICR lines is called the waveform theory. This is called as such because when magnetized characters emit signals as printed with the use of an MICR toner, waves are created on the MICR line. These waves have positive and negative peaks that should have a corresponding depth or height.

Different brands has its own special type of MICR toner. There is a special MICR toner for HP which is distinct from what Canon MICR printers require. To get a discount on your laser MICR toner, you can order one from printcountry.com.